Sam Darnold would be ‘honored to play for any [NFL] team’

USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold differentiated himself from UCLA Bruins signal-caller Josh Rosen by indicating on Wednesday that it would be an honor to play for any NFL team.

The Cleveland Browns (0-15) assured themselves the top overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft with a loss to the Chicago Bears last weekend. Darnold was asked how he thinks he would look in a Browns uniform while speaking to the media ahead of USC’s game against Ohio State on Friday in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

“Whenever I come out to go to the NFL, I think I’d be honored to play for any team,” Darnold said Wednesday, via ESPN. “It’s been a dream of mine for such a long time to play in the NFL. Any team that would want to give me that opportunity to be a part of their organization, it would mean the world to me.”

Darnold’s comments stand in stark contrast to what Rosen had to say about his NFL future. While Rosen remains undecided whether he’ll return for another season of college football with UCLA next year, he has consistently hinted at a reluctance to being drafted by the Browns. Rosen said over the weekend that he would “rather be a lower pick at the right team than a higher one at the wrong team.” Reports have also surfaced indicating Rosen may stay at UCLA to avoid being drafted by the Browns.

It’s worth noting that Darnold, a redshirt sophomore, has yet to reveal his plans heading into 2018, either. Although both Darnold and Rosen are projected as first-round picks. Should both declare for the draft, perhaps the Browns would be best served by selecting Darnold, not Rosen, for obvious reasons. But that all depends on whether or not the Browns decide to take a quarterback with the top pick in the draft in the first place.